Revelation 4, January 26, 2025
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Community Scripture Reading
Community Scripture Reading
1 After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”
11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
Introduction
Introduction
18 The king also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with the finest gold.
19 The throne had six steps, and the throne had a round top, and on each side of the seat were armrests and two lions standing beside the armrests,
20 while twelve lions stood there, one on each end of a step on the six steps. The like of it was never made in any kingdom.
Did you ever play king of the hill growing up? I know we did. We were lucky enough to live in North Dakota for seven years period we lived across the street from the high school parking lot. This meant that since it snowed in terms of feet in North Dakota, the snow from the parking lot would get mounded into piles taller than the house. So me and my siblings and friends would play king of the hill or slide down the hill or do all sorts of fun things. But one of the most enjoyable things with a bunch of snow that's soft not frozen solid like what we've had this week this kind of hill where you compete to see who can stay on top.
This paragraph or rather this chapter is kind of the opposite of king of the hill. It's the throne room of God and we see the king that runs unchallengeable and sits on the throne room as king of the hill as it were.
When we think about the Book of Revelation we think of it or rather we need to think of it in terms of visions. The first vision was all about the churches. The next vision is the largest vision in the book and covering it spans chapters 4 through 16.
So let's begin!
Jesus invites John to come up.
Jesus invites John to come up.
1 After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”
2 At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne.
This language of a door calls our attention back to the visions Ezekiel had: Ezek 1:1
1 In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by the Chebar canal, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.
The Heavens are opened and Ezekiel sees visions.
or later think of when Jesus was baptized:
16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him;
So throughout the New Testament and prophetic literature we have this language of a door being opened in heaven and God speaking down. Specifically in this passage from earlier passages in the book of revelation that the voice that's speaking is the voice of the risen christ jesus and he gives a it gives a command to to John's specifically to come up here period some people look at this passage and think hey this is a calling up of all christians to come up and join with christ but this is a very specific verb Referring to John alone.
It's interesting when you look at the language here as well when Christ says these are the things that must take place where we're assured just like the seven churches are that God has the power to determine and make things happen in the future.
Verse 2 begins the IE start of a new experience John is able to see and hear by the power of the spirit what we can't in this world see.
To better understand what may be happening here take a look at this passage
3 And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—
4 and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter.
So paul talks about being caught up and not being able to hear or rather share what he has heard period john on the other hand is not only permitted but commanded to write down what he sees.
and this is what he sees.
The Throne, Lord and the Throne Room
The Throne, Lord and the Throne Room
2 At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne.
3 And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.
4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads.
5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God,
6 and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind:
So John opens and the first thing he sees is the throne. And since time immemorable Thrones always symbolized the power and the rule of the sovereign who sits on the throne. Revelation overcomers are promised to share in God's throne and here for the first time we see his throne.new paragraph Alright now John doesn't describe the throne itself he sees someone sitting on it as the creator of all.
We don’t get to know exactly what these jewels symbolize except to say John doesn’t know how to describe what he is seeing.
Then you add onto what he has just said the sight of a rainbow.
Looking back through the scripture the only rainbows we see are the rainbow of Noah’s time and the Rainbow around the living beings in heaven
28 Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.
If you think about it when God made a covenant with humanity about never flooding the earth again.
13 I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.
14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds,
15 I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.
16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”
When he made this covenant he was taking a symbol and an image from his throne room in heaven and making it part of His promise to protect and watch over us and not judge us so completely again.
4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads.
Now John looks and sees 24 elders. We don’t get any more explanation about who these are except that they are worshipping God in heaven. Interestingly these are the only beings in heaven with crowns of gold on their heads.
5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God,
6 and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind:
You can almost imagine the volume being turned up in this passage from rumblings peals of Thunder flashes of lightning and more and the sea of glass in front of the throne we don't get an explanation of how John responds but we can imagine him trembling in his boots. The seven lamps that are mentioned here represent the seven spirits of God as already seen earlier in the book as a reference to the Holy Spirit. The word for lamps is different from the word for lamp stands which symbolize the seven churches we just read letters to and these lamps they're not burning to give light as much as to be seen. This definitely suggests what John said in his gospel.
26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
The spirit is the one who will reveal to us all things. In front of the throne we see a sea that is clear as crystal. He's looking at glass.
In the ancient world glass making was a very imperfect science producing a very cloudy final product if they were able to make it happen. Think of an ocean clear as glass that we have today is unthinkable. But that's the image that John sees in this vision.
The Four Living Creatures
The Four Living Creatures
6 and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind:
7 the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight.
8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”
John actually spends a lot of time talking about the four living creatures here. They are pictured as guards around the throne as it were interestingly they have 6 wings and the only other time we see creatures with six wings is in the vision that Isaiah sees in chapter 6 of his book. John doesn't describe them flying but we have to imagine that's the purpose of the wings.
Ezekiel actually describes an angelic order of four chair beam with four wings four faces and full of eyes in his book in Ezekiel chapter 1 John's language is not is not exactly identical but it's pretty similar thank to think that both he and Ezekiel could be describing the same creatures take a look.
10 As for the likeness of their faces, each had a human face. The four had the face of a lion on the right side, the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four had the face of an eagle.
11 Such were their faces. And their wings were spread out above. Each creature had two wings, each of which touched the wing of another, while two covered their bodies.
12 And their whole body, their rims, and their spokes, their wings, and the wheels were full of eyes all around—the wheels that the four of them had.
What we have to remember when we read passages like Ezekiel or passages like revelation chapter 4 is they're heavy in symbolism. Meaning when we see that they're full of eyes it means they are continuously and relentlessly stand in in protection mode around the throne
Thinking through the animals we see in revelation chapter 4. The lion is the king of untamed animals. The ox is often used for sacrifice the eagle is the king of the birds and the man is there a completely different kind of being.
All of creation is called to worship and sing God's praises constantly and so the creatures around God's throne are a symbol of all of creation giving glory to God
8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”
Again in this verse we hear the volume we hear that they are shouting continuously day and night singing God's praises. Although John doesn't call this a song it's more like chanting holy holy holy
And even what they say about God is special here you see in the Old Testament the name for God is Yahweh or the Lord of hosts.
Yahweh
Yahweh
10 And David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him.
Lord God Almighty
Lord God Almighty
These three creatures are referring to God as the Lord God almighty. The word Lord is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word Yahweh or God of hosts. It's his name. It's God's name. God refers to his status as deity. And almighty refers to the extent of his power which is unlimited. He is Lord God almighty. It's interesting this name for God is going to be used five more times in revelation Lord God almighty. But this name for God is not used anywhere else in the New Testament.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Who is and Who was and Who is to come
Who is and Who was and Who is to come
The other name they used to describe God is the one who is and who is to come and who was :) we've seen this name for God earlier in the book and this expands God's name and identity from the God that introduced himself and defined himself to Moses way back in the book of exodus.
14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ”
15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.
The 24 Elders
The 24 Elders
9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever,
10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
And now the 24 elders that we've seen previously keep their Thrones but they throw them down at the feet of the throne. The word glory can also be translated praise and the word honor means respect or value. All of this is offered to the one who sits on the throne the one who is worthy.
We don't know if these elders are meant to symbolize humans or angels but they represent and show us how worthy God is of worship and glory and honor.
In the final phrase of verse 11 here the elders compress all of genesis chapter 1 into a single phrase a single thought the word created here means made from nothing. God said and it was so.
It's fascinating to think about God's creative power scripture shows us that Jesus was the one the member of the Trinity that created the universe but he didn't just create it at the beginning and let it go he continuously holds it together.
16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
John sees a vision of God in his throne room with such glory and such power showing a God who is rightly recognized as sovereign Ruler.
Conclusion
Conclusion
The guardians of God's throne chant holy holy holy in response to the overwhelming purity and glory of God. The driving message of the Bible throughout is that God is holy and in order to exist in relationship with him we somehow need to get a grasp on this. Holiness in reference to God means moral excellence or perfection of character. Many have argued that God's holiness is what summarizes all his other characteristics.
44 For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground.
So God is holy but the beauty is holiness is ascribed and used to describe those who follow Christ. Because of what Jesus did we can inherit and receive some of God's holiness. Throughout the Book of Revelation Jesus followers are going to be referred to as servants or brothers but they will also be referred to as holy ones or Saints more than anything else. God is the one that alone is truly holy but he has also enabled us to be holy as well.
Revelation Application
APPLICATION
• Trust your future to the one sitting on heaven’s throne.
• Never question that God is completely holy.
• Grow in your worship, since no activity is more important for a creature.
Who is on the throne of my life?
Who is on the throne of my life?
It's nearly impossible for us as Americans to understand the experience of bowing before a human sovereign. Regardless of whether you're president wins or loses you don't think of yourself as one of his subjects. You think of yourself as someone that chose him or didn't. In fact most people around the world don't bow before a sovereign who has complete authority in their lives. Interestingly there's actually a dozen or two monarchies still in existence around the world but most of them have more symbolic power than they do actual power.
But regardless of who rules your country there has always been this sense for human beings that we sit on our own individual Thrones. We want to rule and run our lives without someone telling us what to do. From a young age as kids we dream of being able to choose when we get up or what we eat. As we grow up we value and treasure our independence and we bristle when our boss or a spouse tries to tell us what to do. And later in life the hardest thing for people to lose is their independence and having to listen to what other people tell them they need to do.
But in between birth and death you kind of have two choices for the throne of your life. You can enthrone Christ as head of your life or you can Enthrone yourself.
This passage in revelation shows us an image of or a symbol of heaven. It points out that Christ sits in throned in heaven he is and he was and he is to come he is the architect of creation he is the ruler
If we live our lives with Christ on the throne of our lives we are investing and serving the sovereign who will never fail. If we're throwing ourselves on the throne of our lives we will suffer the pain of sin. Who is on the throne of your life?
If God's on the throne of your life. If he is your personal sovereign thank you for his greatness his goodness. Worship him and do that by reading aloud the words of praise in revelation 4. If you've allowed someone or something else to sneak on in that throne put God back up there. Remove things from your life that try to take the place of God's throne search your heart and keep God on the throne of your life.
Handout Principles
Revelation Principles
PRINCIPLES
• Events connected with the end of the world “must take place.”
• The sights and sounds surrounding God’s presence in heaven are beyond human ability to describe adequately in writing.
• God is on his throne.
• Some heavenly beings were created solely to worship God forever.
• The heavenly worship of God magnifies his holiness.
• The heavenly worship of God magnifies his work in creating everything.
Closing Community Prayer
Closing Community Prayer
11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread,
12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
